Part Five

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A big hug of thanks goes out to WriterMerrin for her help with this chapter.

--

Part Five

Me falit – I do not know... And in all honesty, Severus had absolutely no idea what the hell was wrong with him. He felt like something was tearing him apart every time he even saw her coffee eyes twinkle at him from behind those beautiful brown eyelashes. Every time she accidentally stumbled out of her room into him as he paced the hall outside her door, wondering if he should go talk to her about it.

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He was never good at confessing his feelings, but it was harder then, more so than it had been when he hated her. But it was not true that he had hated her. He simply had not known her.

But he knew her now, and she was a bright, beautiful, accomplished witch, who had no doubt begun questioning the reasons for why he would pace in that particular hallway of the house. There were plenty of other halls for him to pace holes through. But the difference was her. She wouldn't be just inside a door beyond those halls. She was behind the antique mahogany door on the second floor landing. The Rose Room, and aptly named because of the décor his mother had made him decorate it in all of those years ago.

He tried to avoid that room if he could help it. But he wouldn't have put her in any other room. She needed the Rose Room. Somehow, that room had chosen her. He hadn't told the house-elf which room to put her in, simply because she would be able to find it herself'.

And that was how he came to be standing immediately outside the door of said bedroom, early on the 25th of December. He clasped his hands behind his back. This time, he would actually knock on the door. And that was exactly what he did.

'Come in,' called the sleepy female voice from within.

Severus wasted no time, opening the door and poking his head around to view inside. He was met by something completely unexpected. The room had changed. The curtains were no longer an awful shade of rose pink, but delightful silver. The bedclothes were in cream and rich burgundy, the sheets pure white silk. All signs of pink had been replaced with neutral shades of cream, burgundy-wine, and white.

'I'm sorry about the room changes. I just couldn't stand the pink after I woke up the first morning,' Hermione chirped, interrupting his thoughts as she walked out of her bathroom clad in a white bathrobe, wet curls brushed back from her face and falling in a damp blanket down her back. 'Happy Christmas, Professor.'

'Happy Christmas, Miss Granger,' he replied, bowing slightly.

Hermione smiled and went to the drawers over one side of the room. She fumbled through the top drawer until she seemed to find what she was looking for and pulled out a parcel wrapped in green. She held it towards him. When he didn't take the hint, she walked over to him, thrust it into one of his hands, and closed his fingers around it. 'It's your present, sir,' she breathed out in frustration.

'Oh.'

Hermione sighed and shook her head. She sat down on the edge of the bed, pulled him down to sit on it, and let her hands guide his own. She nudged his fingers into pulling away the silver ribbon that ensured that the rest of the parcel could be opened with ease. The paper fell away not long after that and revealed a small box.

'Open it,' she said softy, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand.

Severus lifted the lid off the box and gazed into it thoughtfully. His gaze fell onto the smallest of boxes. He would have sworn it was a ring box, if anything. He plucked it out and tried to open it, and when it didn't open, he looked at Hermione with a frown.

'What is this?' he asked hesitantly.

'I can't tell you. All I can say is that it won't open for you until it is ready to. I hope you can be patient?' she answered timidly.

Severus nodded. 'I can wait, but until then, I shall keep it with me always,' he said, slipping it into a pocket of his robes. 'Thank you, Hermione.'

'It was nothing,' she replied, moving into the circle of his arms and shifting so that her legs thrown across his lap and arms around his neck.

Severus was a bit surprised when the young witch perched herself on his lap, but accepted it nonetheless. It was Christmas, after all. People could make some sacrifices on the holiday. He raised one of his hands and Summoned her gift from his bedroom wordlessly. A small box landed in his outstretched hand, and he passed it to Hermione.

'Now you will open your gift,' he stated clearly.

Hermione complied after a moment and pressed on when his arms went back around her as he watched. He tightened his hold a little to indicate his impatience and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She sighed and plucked off the golden ribbon, letting the marble-colored paper fall away to reveal a box. She opened it and found the most beautiful platinum pendant she had ever seen. It was a Celtic cross with a knot overlapping it and a small red jewel in the centre. It was smallish, simple, yet beautiful.

Snape moved one arm off her and took the pendant and simple chain out of the box and, with one graceful hand, magically fastened it around her neck. Hermione looked down at it and smiled.

'Thank you, it's beautiful,' she said breathlessly.

She leaned forward and locked her arms around his neck and pressed a small kiss to his cheek in the same way she had almost four months before. That time he had saved her from an allergy she had no idea she had. And he would probably be saving her for the rest of her life.

Severus was shocked by the kiss at first, but didn't make a big deal out of it this time like he had the last time. It was Christmas, after all. People did out-of-character things on the holidays all of the time. Severus pulled her closer to him in his lap and returned the small intimacy with a brush of his lips across her cheekbone.

'Happy Christmas, Hermione.'

Hermione closed her eyes, rested her dampened tumble of curls against his chest, and let the confines of his arms hold her as close to him as possible.

Severus finally knew what he wanted. He wanted that very moment for the rest of his life. He wanted that stubborn, beautiful witch to be in his arms for as long as he could have her. The pain that he felt in his chest every time that he upset her, or saw her walk away, had not been just any common illness. He had finally fallen in love. She had slowly snuck past the defenses that had been safeguarding his heart for as long as he could remember. And what a beautiful creature she was.

He loved Hermione Jane Granger. The realization was fairly overpowering, but not totally unexpected. One of the reasons why he had been so reluctant to take her on as an apprentice was because he had known how easy it would be for him to fall for her. And he had done so, hard.

'Professor... Severus?' Hermione said softly, rousing him from his thoughts.

Severus looked down at her immediately when she said his name timidly. His eyes were intense when they looked down into hers. Hermione looked back up at him with glistening brown eyes, lips parted slightly, breathing somewhat unevenly. Severus felt a desperate desire just to plunge his tongue between those lips and devour every inch of her delicious mouth. But he fought it.

'How do you feel about breakfast in bed?' he asked softly.

'I think we are going to get along better than I thought,' Hermione said mischievously, smirking up at her professor.

Snape smiled back at her just the slightest little bit and clicked his fingers. An elf appeared and looked at them shyly.

'Please have our breakfast brought up here, Jesse,' he said kindly.

The elf nodded and left the room with a pop. Severus wriggled from beneath the witch and placed her gently back onto the bed. He settled on the bed next to her and leaned against the headboard slightly. Their breakfast arrived not long afterwards, and Severus found he was captivated by the way Hermione ate.

It was going to be a very Happy Christmas indeed...

--

4th of January... It had been four days since New Year. It had been pleasant enough in the house since Christmas Day, although one thing had changed since then. Snape had not laid a hand on Hermione since their embrace on Christmas. He was sure that if he had her in his arms again, he wouldn't be able to maintain the self-control that he had.

She had almost completely undone him then, and she would most certainly break through next time. After that, he was almost certain that she wouldn't speak to him ever again. He slipped a hand into the pocket of his robes and clasped the small wrapped gift in his hand. Due to her use of the Time-Turner, it was her 19th birthday that day as opposed to when it was supposed to be. It wasn't common knowledge, but in view of the fact that she was legally older, he knew that Hermione had decided to legally alter her birth certificate to reflect her new birthday. Although he was sure that she would be receiving gifts from her friends, he had something special for her also.

And that was how he found himself pacing the dining room before breakfast that morning as he anticipated her arrival at the breakfast table. When she walked in, his breath caught in his throat. She was positively luminous.

'Good morning, Professor!' she said cheerfully, bestowing a radiant smile on him.

'Happy Birthday, Miss Granger,' he replied, holding out the small gift in his hand and smirking at the shocked look on her face.

'Despite popular belief, I am capable of ridiculous inanities,' he snapped defensively. Hermione smiled at that and took the gift from his hand, letting her fingers caress his palm as she accepted it.

Severus felt the brief contact tingle up his arm. She shouldn't have done that. He then turned to watch dutifully as she peeled off the layer of wrapping paper to reveal a silver-dusted box. She opened the lid to find a platinum bracelet with a Celtic knot-shaped clasp and tightly woven belcher links. It was a similar style to the one on the necklace she wore around her neck.

'Thank you,' she said softly. 'Will you put it on for me, please?'

It was the soft please that undid him. He kneeled on the floor next to her chair, plucked the bracelet out of the box, and with a deft flick of his fingers, had it around her wrist and clasped firmly.

'Do you like it?' he asked quietly.

Hermione turned to him and blushed. She brought a hand to his cheek and caressed it ever so lightly. 'I love it, thank you.'

'Shall we have breakfast then?' he asked, pulling his body off the ground and returning to his seat at the table.

Hermione nodded, and they both ate breakfast in silence, until two owls floated through the window. The snowy-white owl that she had long come to know as Harry's owl, Hedwig, landed gracefully before her and let her stroke the feathers, nipping at her fingers affectionately. The other dark-coloured eagle owl that she had more recently come to know as Artemis, the Malfoy owl, also perched itself beside Hedwig and waited to be petted. She took the notes from both owls, who stayed put.

Apparently, they were going to wait for replies. She opened the one from Hedwig first and was delighted to see a note from Harry attached.

Hermione!

Harry

Hermione dropped that letter and immediately grabbed for the other letter, cracking Draco's Slytherin-green seal and chuckling. Trust Draco to be a Slytherin through and through. And that's when it occurred to her that she had been sitting in a room with a Slytherin the entire morning and had hardly said a word to him since the post had arrived. She looked up to see a curious look in Snape's eyes.

'I'll let you know what Draco has to say once I've read it,' she informed Snape quickly, not wanting him to be left in the dark.

Dear Hermione,

How are things with old Uncle Severus?

Hermione snorted when she read that and looked over at Snape. Uncle Severus, huh? She decided to file that away and keep it for another time.

Happy 19th Birthday, you old hag! The first week of the holiday with Mother and Father was painful. How have you been? Good, I hope. If I ever hear that Uncle Sev has been giving you a hard time, I'll make sure he winds up with something up his nose.

Hermione laughed out loud at that and had to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle her giggles. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before returning her eyes to the parchment.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said that they would be, and I quote, "delighted if Hermione would come for a visit," unquote. So if my sadistic old godfather will let you, come around to the Burrow today so we can give you your real birthday presents. Send your reply back with Artemis if you can!

Draco and Ginny

Hermione handed the letter over to Severus wordlessly and smirked when she saw his expression as he read the note. Old hag? Uncle Sev? Sadistic old godfather? Severus felt Hermione's lingering gaze on him and felt his resolve crumble at her pouting lips.

'Oh alright, you can go,' he said with an exasperated sigh.

Hermione jumped out of her seat and hugged him around the chest briefly before rushing out of the room and, after five minutes, returning with a note for one of the owls to take. The two owls swooped out of the room, and so did Hermione. Severus waited for fifteen minutes before she returned wearing a pair of Muggle jeans, knee-length chocolate brown snow-boots, a cream-colored cashmere sweater, and a brown scarf around her neck, with her hair pulled back in a loose braid.

Hermione felt exhilarated. She hadn't been able to wear her comfy Muggle clothes in such a long time, and it was good to be in them again.

Seeing how happy she was, Severus felt something like a dead weight drop into the pit of his stomach.

'Go now, and I don't want to see you back here until tomorrow morning,' Severus said, as an uncharacteristically kind gesture.

Hermione's eyes went wide. 'I can stay for the night?' she asked in amazement.

'Yes, now off with you,' he said reluctantly.

Hermione went over to him and gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. 'Thank you so much, Professor. This has really made my day,' she said with a smile.

Severus felt his resolve growing weaker by the second. 'Happy Birthday once more, Miss Granger. Enjoy your stay with the Weasleys, and your break. Because as soon as you get back, we have lessons to plan,' he said with just a hint of mischief in his voice.

Hermione laughed lightly and stepped away, dashing out of the room to grab her things. Severus felt the wards shift as she Apparated out of the house, and sat in his chair for ten minutes before it registered in his mind that Hermione was no longer there. He felt a pang of loss when he realized that she would not be returning to him until the next day.

But he knew that this was making her happy. And after all, that was exactly what he wanted – her happiness – and would do anything to give that to her in the most discreet way possible.

He sighed and settled back in his seat. It was going to be a long twenty-four hours.

--

Outside, the snow was swirling around and making the garden look like a winter wonderland. It was near midday when Hermione was settled in the sitting room of the Burrow near the fire with her legs tucked beneath her and a small sad smile playing on her lips. She had been fed a second breakfast at the Burrow by Molly Wesley, who claimed that she was 'far too thin,' and not long after, shovelled lunch in front of her. All the while, Harry, Ginny and Draco were laughing at the forced attentions she was receiving for her birthday.

'Is your stomach full to bursting yet, Hermione?' Draco teased mercilessly.

Hermione threw him a rueful look as Harry and Ginny laughed at his comment. 'Molly sure knows how to force-feed a person,' she said simply.

She turned to look at Harry. 'Now, what was it that you were so eager to tell me in your letter, Harry?' she asked seriously, with a knowing smile on her face. Somehow, she knew Harry was going to tell her about a new girlfriend. It was one of the only things that ever made him perk up like he was then.

'Well, you see, Luna and I sort of got together when she came to the Burrow for a couple of days last week to visit Ginny...' Harry said, trailing his sentence off.

Hermione put a hand on his forearm and smiled. 'It's alright, Harry. I already knew that you had a thing for Luna. It was bound to happen some time,' she said, making the raven-haired boy blush.

'Oh.'

By this point, Ginny and Draco had become absorbed in each other and had moved to the other side of the room where they were snuggled together on the other couch in front of the fire. They were just far enough away to not be able to catch their conversation. Harry was looking at her meaningfully with his mouth quirked in a smile.

'Hermione, is there something you'd like to tell me?' Harry asked seriously.

Hermione sighed. She knew it had been coming. 'I met someone; you don't know him, well at least not like I do. But I have come to like him a lot,' she replied with an air of frustration. 'It's hard to explain exactly what I feel.'

'Say no more, 'Mione,' he said quietly, holding up a hand. 'I've had a pretty good idea that this has been coming for a long time now. Actually, I'm surprised that it's taken this long for you to realize it. I'm happy to accept this if he makes you happy.'

Hermione looked at her best friend of seven years for a moment and smiled. She threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. 'Thank you, Harry. It was going to be hard enough for me to tell you all, but you've made it so much easier,' she whispered.

'It's alright, 'Mione. I figured that he was the one who gave you that necklace and the bracelet?' he asked curiously.

Hermione released Harry and nodded. 'He can be very nice and docile sometimes, but he is still the snarky, taciturn bastard that we all know. But I love him for all of those things anyway. I love him the way he is,' she said, blushing a little at revealing her feelings to someone so openly.

Harry nodded understandingly. 'I know how you feel. I love Luna the way she is, with all of her quirks, and she loves me for me not for my status,' he admitted.

'Oh, Harry!' she exclaimed before enveloping him in a tight hug again.

Harry patted her back tenderly and waited for her to regain her composure. After a moment, Harry spoke up again. 'So does he like you?' he asked carefully.

At that, Hermione gave a great heaving sob and whimpered into his shirt. She felt the tears stinging her eyes. He didn't like her. He even said as much to her last time she had asked. He was just being nice to her because he needed her. He was using her. But she was using him too. It just hurt a lot more to have to think about it.

'No, Harry. I don't really think he likes me that much,' she answered through her tears. She couldn't explain to him anything. He trusted her to keep that between them. 'I think he respects me to an extent, but other than that, I am merely an annoying pest to him.'

'You're not an annoying pest, Hermione,' Harry cooed softly. 'Any guy would be nuts not to fall head over heels for you. The only reason why I never have is because you're like family to me. You're the only family I have.'

'You're the only family I have too!' she cried.

Hermione knew she was being pathetic. More than pathetic actually. She was practically wallowing in the maudlin self-pity. She pulled herself together as quickly as she could and broke away from Harry, brushing the tears away furiously.

She could never be worthy of Snape if she snivelled around like that. 'Sorry about that, Harry, my emotions are just running a little high lately. I don't usually break down like that.' She apologized.

Harry nodded. He agreed with her on that point. Hermione Granger was never emotional in front of her friends or anyone for that matter. Come to think of it, Harry was sure that he hadn't seen her like that since their fourth year after the Yule Ball. Since that night, it was hard to get her to display emotions that well at all. 'Don't worry about it, 'Mione. Just try and perk up. Things will be fine in the end.' Harry hurried to reassure her.

Honestly, Harry really hated seeing his best friend like that. Oddly enough, they had only grown closer since her and Ron's messy break-up four months earlier. Ron had stuck with Dean and Seamus after that and had moved on from Hermione. He was dating a Ravenclaw girl named Daphne Greengrass, but still didn't see fit to apologize to any of them for overreacting and storming off.

Harry knew that all of it was playing on Hermione's nerves because she had always hated the arguments between all of them, especially in their earlier years at Hogwarts. Back then, she had been really emotional about it, but now, she was subtle about her unhappiness.

'Let's leave the love-birds and go for a walk, huh?' Harry suggested. 'Maybe we can find the twins and take them on with a game of Quidditch, hmmm?'

Hermione laughed and nodded, getting out of the seat and following Harry out of the house through the back door. They found the twins over by the garden shed, and all of them grabbed a broom and a Quaffle and headed to the Weasleys' orchard. Hermione and Harry took on Fred and George, and in the end they tied.

Hermione had become confident in her flying abilities more recently and played a very good keeper, as did George, while Harry and Fred chased each other around, trying to knock each other off their brooms and score goals. Finally, when all of them were on the ground, the snow wars began. Hermione built a great fort for her and Harry with a wave of her hand while George and Fred made a fortress that was more like a mountain of snow, and they flung snow balls all over the place.

When they were all shaking, wet and extremely cold, Harry picked up his broom and lifted Hermione's thin frame into his arms and carried her into the house chivalrously. When he deposited her on the floor in the kitchen, he looked at her with deep concern.

'Mione, Mrs. Weasley was right. You are way too thin,' he commented seriously.

'It's just because I get too busy to eat sometimes. If I promise to take care of myself better, will you get off my case?' she asked defensively.

Harry stuck his hand out and shook hers. 'Deal. Now get upstairs and get warm. I'll tell Ginny to get you some dry clothes to wear.'

When she was almost at the stairs Harry called out to her again. 'When will you be going, by the way?' he asked.

'Professor Snape said that he didn't want to see me back at his house until tomorrow morning,' she called down the stairs.

'So the great git does have a soul,' Harry joked, laughing.

Hermione's tinkling laughter floated down the stairs as she mounted them to find Ginny's room and then go for a long, hot shower.

She hummed in contentment. Tomorrow could wait until then...

--

A/N – Yes, I do realize I got the birthday mixed-up. My apologies, but just run with it anyway.